Caring: A Passage to Heart

By Marie Clayton and Julie Watson

This keepsake book contains a collection of lived out stories written by care givers, revealing a personal or professional truth - exemplars of the Watson 10 Caritas Processes® which is the core of the Theory of Human Caring.

'I hope the caring moments described in this book will inspire and encourage read

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lotus Library
• Release date: Oct 11, 2020
• ISBN: 9780578769325

Marie Clayton

Marie Clayton is a professional writer, who has worked on a variety of sewing and needlecraft books including Ultimate Sewing Bible (9781843404118) and Make Your Own Clothes (9781843403890). She currently lives in London.

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Remember What You Are Here for

Brooke Herrud RN

Sandy, Utah, USA

A profound experience I had recently in my job reminds me of Caritas Process 1. It was a Friday afternoon, and it had been a very busy day in our clinic. I was behind on scanning documents into patients’ charts, completing patients’ FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) paperwork, responding to patient messages, and helping my peers to clean up for the end of the day. Generally, I am fine with staying after work hours to complete all of these tasks, but I promised my children that I would be home on time so we could have a movie night (which meant a lot, because I have been increasingly absent at home due to heavy work loads.) I was frantic and trying to hack away at my pile of work, then a coworker came from the lobby and stated that one of our patients was crying hysterically and didn’t have an appointment but wanted to be seen. The doctor I work with insisted that I go and see what she needed (as I step in with a lot of our patient care), and I was immediately panicked and somewhat irritated because of the day we had and the promise I made to my children. I took a deep breath and went out to the lobby to see what was wrong with our patient, and she stated she is newly pregnant with twins and the father of her babies just packed up and moved out. She was devastated, and the only thing that would calm her down and reassure her that everything was going to be okay was to hear the babies’ heartbeats. Due to her gestational age, I was fearful that I wouldn’t be able to hear the heartbeats (especially in twins). I didn’t want to try to doppler her and panic her if I couldn’t hear anything, so I skipped that step and grabbed an ultrasound machine so she could see her babies as well as their little flickering hearts.

I dimmed the lights for her, made sure she was comfortable, and I started scanning her belly. Tears streamed from her face as she visualized two little heartbeats on the screen, and she was relieved. I took the time to show her the tiny fingers and toes, and we watched the two little ones dance and swish around for almost an hour. She was so grateful that I took the time to reassure her that her babies were okay, especially due to the day and time of her crisis. I sincerely felt as though I needed that moment to realign myself with what my purpose is at my job. It’s not so I can sit at my desk and scan papers and chart — it’s so I can help women and share the love and support that I have for each and every one of them. It was such a humbling moment, and I put myself into her shoes after she left. I would’ve been terrified, devastated... alone. I couldn’t imagine how sad and scared I would be in her situation.

This to me exemplifies Caritas 1, because what I did for this patient is not necessarily normal practice, nor is it something every patient requires. Healthcare is not one-size-fits-all, and we need to adjust as such so that our patients’ individual needs are met thoroughly. I certainly did not start out in this situation with a calm and compassionate mind, but the moment I knew what I could do to help this patient to the best of my ability — I did it without